Surah Al-Kahf 18:51
سُورَةُ الكَهۡفِ · Meccan · Verse 51 of 110
۞ مَّآ أَشْهَدتُّهُمْ خَلْقَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا خَلْقَ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَمَا كُنتُ مُتَّخِذَ ٱلْمُضِلِّينَ عَضُدًۭا
Translation
I did not make them witnesses to the creation of the heavens and earth, nor to their own creation; I do not take as My supporters those who lead others astray.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'I did not make them witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor their own creation; and I would not take the misleaders as helpers.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note the point, the false gods and the misguided leaders people follow were not present at creation, have no share in it, no real knowledge or power; God needs no such 'helpers', and neither should we rely on them. Ask yourself: I hand enormous authority over my life to voices that were not there at the beginning and understand nothing of the whole, trends, experts of the moment, the confident and the loud. This verse deflates them all: they witnessed nothing, they hold nothing, they are not partners in reality. Whose guidance am I treating as authoritative that has, in truth, no real grounding at all, that God Himself would never take as a 'helper'?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, al-Biqa'i.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Kahf 18:51 is discussed in 2 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
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